>> barack obama is officially sworn in as u.s. president for a second term. >> he took the oath of office at a small ceremony in the white house. preparations are on the way for a larger ceremony on monday. you are watching al-jazeera live from london. more details emerge from the algerian hostage crisis. five kidnappers have been captured alive. french forces in mali launch more attacks on the rebel stronghold.

british children learn about forced marriage as the british government or as to ban the practice. barack obama has officially begun his second term. they're putting the issue touches to a more elaborate inauguration on monday. he's the 17th u.s. president to serve a second term in office. he took the oath of office a small ceremony earlier. >> i greater thanbarack hussein obama do solemnly swear that i will faithfully execute the office of the united states and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the united states. >> our white house correspondent takes a look ahead at what lies

in store for the president the next four years. >> the first time president barack obama took the oath of office -- he did it in front of the biggest crowd washington d.c. has seen it all of its history. almost 2 billion people here to hear him make the promises. >> on this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dog was that for far too long have struggled our politics. >> things did not help out -- but things did not work out as he hoped. things in washington remain politically terra -- politically polarized. president knows republicans can once again put a stranglehold on his political agenda. topping his priority list, immigration reform, gun-

control, and a balancing energy production with climate concerns. but his first priority is getting congress to increase the nation's debt ceiling at that talk about cutting the debt. that's where some think he will try to cement his legacy. >> he's going to try to get our long term in thailand obligations under control and set us on a new fiscal course. >> the president's first foreign-policy priority last term was israeli-palestinian peace. it's unlikely to take the top spot the second time, where most expect the president's focus to be on iran. >> it's hard to believe if we can't get a meaningful negotiation within the next two years that you will not have it read capable of producing a nuclear weapons. then, the u.s. has the choice in its negotiations -- will the solution be containment or is it

going to be a preventive strike? >> as he takes the oath again, he will do it with the experience of that presidencies are often formed by crises that happened outside of their control. he will know all folksy brought here last i did not change washington. he will try something -- you have to try something new if you want to accomplish his ambitious agenda this type. >> there are reports that algeria special forces have captured five of the kidnappers involved in the past plant incident. they are looking at the side recovering bodies. >> half how many of the hostages seen in the -- how many of the hostages in these pictures came out alive? a delicate and no less urgent operation is underway to find and i defy the missing and dead.

-- identify the missing and dead. new footage have been released said to show some of the weapons the militants were equipped with -- heavy machine guns, rifles, shotguns and grenades. a telephone recording of the militant leader issuing demands and threatening to kill all the hostages. >> it there is extensive coverage of the crisis across europe's media. the narrow escapes of the survivor of -- are of particular interest. >> they put some people over the office and just the way -- you

could hear gunfire outside and machine gun fire. sometimes rapidly, we knew it was really bad. >> more than a dozen foreign workers are still unaccounted for. among them, staff from britain, japan, and norway. there are three main priorities now running parallel to each other. foreign governments will want to work out for themselves what happened. the task will involve the briefing survivors, collating intelligence, and visiting the site itself. the third priority is to devise a new strategy, political and diplomatic strategy to tackle the threat in the future. >> this is a global threat and it will require a global response.

a response that is about years or decades rather than months and requires a response that is patient and painstaking and intelligent and above all has an absolutely iron resolve. >> the end of the hostage crisis is just the beginning of a far bigger scenario. >> french air forces in mali have launched attacks on the rebel stronghold. the french military intervention is now into the ninth day. >> the french air force commands the skies over bali. to the north of here, vast expanses of desert terrain where the french are trying to drive out fighters but -- fighters affiliated with al qaeda. the french have pushed for. rebel forces control thousands of square kilometers north and

east to the borders of mauritania and algeria. the french army is making its presence felt all along with mullion government forces. since it was captured by rebels after the french intervention began, the local allies have faced strong resistance trying to retake the town. >> this situation is still not very clear. in theory, there are few or no rebels there, but that needs to be confirmed. we need to see what happens in the coming days. >> and from a commander in mali, a look at the task as they try to extend government control over the whole of the country. >> it's not at all easy and there's a small part of the population helping their cause. that is what is making the fight tough. >> these are the latest images.

it looks abandoned but there are fears of landmines and booby traps. the french had been hoping by now to start handing over the ground operations to a u.s. mandated african force. but those troops, including contingents from nigeria and senegal and chad have been slow to arrive. so for now, this remains an essentially french operation, but with new offers of transport planes coming from canada, the long-awaited african force may start taking shape. >> in syria, reports of heavy fighting in the capital of damascus. this video shows rocket hitting the suburbs. forces have been trying to recapture the area for nearly two months. these pictures show saw -- show

fighters as they capture a government military base near the airport. rebels say they seized anti- aircraft guns, tanks and heavy artillery. >> if you refuse to ormuz, we will arm ourselves with our patients and resistance. we will be victorious. >> opposition activists say government forces are using a new kind of missile -- is silent and has the ability to cause significant damage because no one has time to run for cover. we have a report now. >> in a village high in the mountains, the talk was of the new weapon being used by the government. this is the huge crater the missile created just next to a school housing dozens of refugees.

>> we were asleep at about 11:00 when we heard an enormous explosion -- enormous explosion. this is not a usual shell. must be a ground missile. this is something horrible. the shrapnel is spread over 500 meters or more. >> in another village, another huge crater, this time in the rocks. they say the local people were knocked out of their seats by the pressure of the blast. >> we were in an old cave underground when the rocket hit. the caves scheck and all the glass in the area was shattered. a ceiling 500 meters away fell down. >> the local people say when they hear the attacks, had a chance to run away. when the aircraft are dropping bombs, the aircraft that have some time to take cover. but with these new rockets, they

don't know when they actually drop and they say they can cause an enormous amount of damage. the local people have seen video shot by government shoulder -- government soldiers showing short-range missiles being launched near damascus. officials have been quoted in the american press saying iran has supplied syria with a missile similar to a scud, but more precise. >> we have been extremely clear about how we feel about iranian efforts to prop up the assad regime. they're going to fail but we have to shed light on what iran is doing, not just the provision of iran -- provision of money and trainers, but the provision of tactics and techniques for trying to keep him in power. >> the un security council imposed sanctions on two iranian firms last month accused of

supplying arms to the syrian government. the syrian prime minister visited teheran last week. iran has not confirmed it is supplying the government with weapons, but the opposition has told al-jazeera that they are concentrating their efforts on trying to cut off all supplies to regime coming into the country by sea. >> still to come on the program, neck-and-neck -- the polls are closed as germany's ruling coalition tries to stave off defeat. can endangered animals be saved from extinction? one in thailand and germany -- one group in thailand certainly hope so.

>> welcome back to your international weather forecast. finally getting some clear air down toward rio de janeiro. the clouds are moving toward the northeast and you can see a break in the rain as we go toward monday. 27 degrees there. a little cooler than what we have seen. lower temperatures with el salvador seeing about 31. 30 degrees and rainy conditions. toward central america, unfortunately for honduras, we still see showers along the coastal region. that has been going on for days and we think it will be light as we make our way toward the beginning of the week. plenty of sunshine in the forecast. mexico city, about 18 degrees. let's all go to canada. at temperatures are going to be cold. an arctic outbreak happening now with a storm system pushing through and pulling in northerly temperatures. in winnipeg, -25.

in ottawa, about -19 degrees. the snow will be a major problem. new york only getting up to zero. in atlanta, about 11 degrees for you.

>> and look at the headlines here -- u.s. president barack obama has been officially sworn in for a second term at the swearing-in ceremony in the white house. a larger public swearing-in will take place on monday. reports some of the kidnappers were captured in algeria. french troops in mali have launched new attacks against rebels. taking you back to our top story -- president barack

obama's inauguration. let's go live now to washington d.c. you were giving us a sense of the programs of the president is mapping out. how is he going to get it through congress? >> the republicans still control the house and they have been in no mood to compromise. he's trying to take on some pretty controversial issues -- immigration, gun control, spending, dealing with the national debt and deficit. these are things he sees absolutely no common ground with republicans on. he has to get them to agree, so how is he going to do it? he's defined by his ability to campaign. he's putting that the organization into eight groups that will lobby on his behalf. his inauguration was about changing the town in washington. even people in the white house said that the president has failed to change the town.

if anything, it's uglier, angrier, and even more bitter. he was to try to get just enough of the republican party on board with him to pass some of the agenda items and we believe he's going to take them all on at once. >> talk us through what we can expect on monday. >> a bit of a prayer service, but of a poetry reading, and a bit of a political pep rally all rolled into one. the president will give his speech, probably 20 minutes and take the oath of office again -- the fourth time if you think about it because the chief justice made that mistake four years ago. then there is going to be a celebrity rock concert. we have kelly clarkson and james taylor performing. something for everybody. we will also have very cold weather and snowflakes. >> looking forward to all of that. for thank you very much.

the polls have now closed. the regional german elections of lower saxony is busy choosing their parliament and the result is looking extremely close. it is being seen as a dress rehearsal for several elections in september and a verdict on chancellor angela merkel herself. david mcalester represents her party and is close to her. the poll suggests is neck-and- neck with the opposition social democrats and the green party. with go live now to hand over. what is the latest you are hearing there? >> the latest we are hearing is that it's going to be a long night. we will have to wait for the regional polling stations to be counted. the parties are really neck-and- neck and it could be angela merkel's christian democratic union or it could be the greens and social democrats. this is a bellwether region.

this has farmers, big industry, europe's biggest automaker, volkswagen is located here. the religious split is catholic and protestant. what happens here is will what happened across the country generally speaking. that is why angela merkel made seven campaign stops here along with david mcallister, the christian democratic premier in this region, and that is why she is watching the results so closely. but the results so far is that we don't know who is going to win. >> is it a real indicator of what might happen to angela merkel and her party in the upcoming national elections or how she got time to turn things around? >> i need you would be simplistic to say whatever comes out of the accounting here will be what will be real large in

the federal election in eight months. however, the breakthrough by the free democratic party which was basically a political zombie -- political commentators have been calling it the walking dead. it bounced back up to 10% think to a political blood transfusion. voters who would have voted for the christian democrats voted for the free democrats just to keep them in the game. but it hurt angela merkel's party. she must be mindful of this dynamic to keep her coalition partner alive. the coalition partner shots to govern with in eight months' time might need another transfusion nationally, getting people to vote strategically. each party tries to campaign on its own platform, but this is what happens in german politics. there is a heavy possible place to play -- possible price to

play and it could cost the christian democrats. >> to serbia now, a war memorial has been taken away to fighters. armed police station operation to remove the monument. it has been the focus of tension in recent weeks, seen by serbia as a memorial to terrorists. in greece, two security guards were injured when the a bomb exploded outside athens and the bank of closed. the center was evacuated. to enter people were led to safety after warning calls were made to local media. more than 1000 protesters took to the streets demanding the resignation of the president of jordan. the constitution limits the

president to five years. presidential elections are due in october. they plan to make a criminal offense to force anyone to marry in england. the finding and prosecuting of parents could be easier said than done. as part our series focusing on women, we have a report on the effort to end forced marriages. >> here is what teenagers get taught in school in london nowadays, how to spot if one of your friends is being put into a forced marriage. this campaigner and a charity trying to get children from any racial background to understand how important is this. >> we can be sensitive to any particular group. this should be against the law and will be against a loss in and it needs to be stamped out. >> this woman was taken to turkey by her parents on a

holiday, she said. when she was taken there, she was introduced to a magical to marry. five years later, after physical, sexual, and mental abuse, she got away. she hasn't forgotten and it does not find it easy to forgive her father. >> they took me to turkey, it wasn't explained. i never even knew i was going to turkey to get married. nothing was explained but even after my father apologized, the only thing he could say to me is we thought we were doing the right thing. >> the right thing based on what? >> i'm assuming based on his cultural beliefs. >> perhaps the most unpleasant aspect is that children are essentially hand over into a life of slavery by their own parents. that is why the government here want a specific criminal offense of forced marriage made law. but some of the community at the heart of this very complicated place is to try to police.

campaigners against forced marriage interviewed a thousand pakistan the women living in the uk. 860 said they knew someone in their family was in a forced marriage. 800 of the same 1000 said they were forced into a marriage, they would not tell the police because they did not want to betray their family. that's exactly where the problem lies. >> changing the mindset for us is about utilizing religion to highlight the at and it is where we incorporate face leaders. >> others question how officers will reasonably be able to make a distinction between arranged marriages and forced once. >> arranged marriage is one based on joyce and consent. at the other end of the continuum, you got forced marriage based on coercion and the rest. it is the gray area in between that will be a challenge for prosecutors and law-enforcement agencies to captor.

>> the real power lies in the hands of children who some honey to find the strength to say no to the authority figures in their lives. >> in the third part of our series of women around the world, we will take to the afghan capital word gender violence remains a problem despite a 2009 protection law. we will follow one woman's quest for justice after daughter was killed by her husband. she says the murder could have been prevented if the police had done their job. it has been another day of chaos in europe as heavy snow disrupts transport across the region. 40% of flights were canceled in paris. thousands of homes were left without power in the southwest. the situation is not much better in germany where more than a hundred flights were canceled at the frankfurt airport. at heathrow airport, thousands

of passengers remain stranded of passengers remain stranded after another